Lionel Messi's oldest son, Thiago, has begun to attract followers of his own after footage emerged of little girls reacting to him in an academy game. The video was posted on Instagram, where it went viral shortly after being uploaded.
Inter Miami signed Lionel Messi in the summer, and the 36-year-old forward moved to Florida with his wife and three sons. He decided to enrol his children in the club's academy, and has made multiple appearances to watch them play in their academy games.
Thiago Messi was sporting his father's iconic number 10 shirt playing for the academy when he stepped up to take a corner-kick. As he took the set piece with his right foot, a group of young girls seated behind the goal line giggled at seeing him deliver the cross.
The video was originally posted on Instagram by user @armaniv1 and has garnered over 1.5 million likes since then. 11-year-old Thiago is quickly building a name for himself in the American circuits, and in those three young girls, has found his first set of fans.
Lionel Messi's other sons Mateo and Ciro are also part of the academy, but are yet to have fans of their own. They have a great deal of expectations to live up to as a result of their father's achievements, and will have this in mind if they grow up to play football.
Messi remains on holidays just like the rest of his Inter Miami teammates, as they continue to recharge ahead of the 2024 season. The club captain spent most of his break with his family, visiting multiple countries in this period.
Lionel Messi set for huge 2024 season
Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami in the summer and quickly made it clear that he did not intend to ease off in the MLS. He played hard and helped his club claim the Leagues Cup.
Inter Miami have recruited some of the biggest names in 21st century football, incuding Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, as they look to achieve more success in 2024. For Messi, this would mean adding to his already-impressive trophy cabinet, and further engraving his name in football history.
Lionel Messi will hope to be in great shape with Inter Miami to feature prominently for Argentina in the Copa America next June. The payer will be hopeful of success at yet another international tournament, but first has to navigate the rough MLS terrain.